About Intercooler Chiller Core
We love to joke and have fun calling Intercooler Chiller core a “beer cooler” but let’s be serious here. That is truly not the case. So, lets walk through the “how’s and whys” of our core. Lets take a look at how our BPHE (Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger) core is constructed and what specifications Intercooler Chiller cores are rated and tested for. BPHEs are used in refrigeration systems to transfer heat between the refrigerant and the cooling medium. They are particularly useful in compact refrigeration systems, such as our application as an intercooler chiller. We spent a lot of time testing and consulting with our own engineering resources to come up with our chiller core. In figure 1. you can see how the individual plates are stacked in layers that make our core.
Figure 2 is an actual plate from our core. For high heat transfer efficiency, the thin, corrugated plates provide a larger surface area for heat transfer compared to just a flat plate, resulting in high heat transfer efficiency. We wanted a compact but efficient core and the current core we use is what we came up with after a lot of testing. We also went with as many plates as we could without requiring special orifice tubes that would be required to help distribute the refrigerant over a thicker core. We also discovered in our testing we did not need a larger or thicker (more plates) core to achieve our goals in cooling. We run this core on every single application/kit we offer. Running it on completely stock Hellcats to 1500 plus rwhp cars such as Sumit Goyal’s personal Hellcat.
In order to prevent leakage between refrigerant and water circuits, it is essential to provide an impermeable seal between the plates. This is achieved by heating the BPHE assembly in a vacuum oven to a temperature that causes the copper film to melt. As a result of surface tension, the copper coating collects at the edges of each plate and the contact points thus forming sealed channels when the assembly is allowed to cool. Compact design: Our brazed plate heat exchangers has a compact design, which makes it ideal for applications where space is limited. Durability: Our manufacturers brazing process provides a strong, leak-proof bond between the plates, making our heat exchangers durable and long-lasting.
Specifications: Our heat exchanger is UL listed as a Refrigerant Heat Exchanger. Min/Max design temperature: -300/+430 Deg F Operational pressure: Up to 650 psi Compatible Refrigerant’s: R12, R22, R1234YF, R134A, R404A, R407A, R407B, R407C, R410A, and R507A
Parallel and Counter flow differences: When plumbing in coolant lines is explained below. We prefer counterflow.
LMDT = log mean temperature difference
The LMTD of a heat exchanger configured for counterflow will always be higher than that of the same heat exchanger configured for parallel flow, and having the same entering and exiting conditions for both flow streams. This implies that heat exchangers should always be configured for counterflow when the goal is to maximize the rate of heat transfer. Lastly, we guarantee our chiller cores not to leak/bleed in between the refrigerant and glycol passage ways or externally. The pressures and temperatures our units are designed for fall well within the parameters required for our application. Our supplier has been making BPHE’s for over 30 years and has a flawless track record for reliability and quality.